“Like you care! You only care about—” was all Ben got out before Isaac growled.
“I care more than you know. I have done everything in my power to keep her safe. Now, leave before Flame eats you,” he snapped and turned to walk away.
Risa glanced over Isaac’s shoulder, watching Ben. She then raised her eyes up to Isaac; his face scared her a little with the cold look in his eyes, but she also felt safe; she knew she had nothing to fear. “Who is Flame?” she asked.
A deep voice replied, “I am Flame.” She jumped in Isaac’s arms and looked up at a huge red and black dragon. He had horns on his head, four of them—two long and curved, where the other two were short and just behind his ears. His body was long and slim but powerful. His tail waved softly behind him. The tip looked like flames dancing over the edge. She watched as he walked out of the trees. Before she could even say anything, he went on, “Ice is The Dragon of this valley, and I am his more handsome twin brother,” The Dragon said, bending down from where he was standing. “Ice is an ass, but you will like him,” he said as Isaac jumped onto his back. “I hate you and your brother just so you know, Flame,” she said in a sweet as pie voice.
“Oh, honey, by the end of the week, you will love me,” The Dragon growled back and took off.
“Don’t worry, he is gay,” Isaac said lightly.
“He is a huge dragon, not like I have to worry about sex with him,” she huffed, looking around as they flew, so she did not see the funny look which passed over Isaac’s face.
Risa watched as they flew, not wanting to move just in case Isaac dropped her. She watched as the world dropped away. Everything looked small, but she also saw figures making their way to her house. “Hey, what the?” she cried as there was a boom as her house went up in smoke again. However, this time, the house remained standing. “They moved fast,” Isaac said, anger filling his voice. “Don’t worry; we put a spell on the house and grounds. They will not get in, and the fire will not touch your house this time,” Flame growled. “And, when Ice and I find out who did it, we will eat them,” Flame added as they draw closer and closer to the top of the hill.
“Why did Flame, and you come to get me, and not this Ice?” she asked, her nerves getting the better of her by now.
“He is waiting for you at the cave, most likely cleaning,” Flame said, huffing softly, making Risa think he was laughing.
“Hey, the house is clean, you flame ball,” Isaac snapped, and for the next ten minutes, she listened as the two went at it, calling each other names and teasing each other. Risa blinked. This was not how she thought this night was going to go; before long, she found herself inside a cave.
She looked around and saw Isaac leaving. “Hey, Isaac, where are you going?” she asked, not liking the fact he would leave her alone.
“Don’t worry, Ice will be here soon. I have work I must do,” he said, smiling and walked out. Risa turned to Flame as he made a funny sound.
She blinked. Did he just say ‘coward’ under his breath? She also watched him leave as he moved through a large doorway. Something moved behind her. She spun, and there was another dragon. Unlike Flame, who was red and black with bright red eyes, this one was blue and black with ice blue eyes. The build and size were the same, and they moved the same. “Hello, Risa,” The Dragon said in a low voice, which sounded familiar, but Risa was unable to place it. “I am Ice, welcome to my home, which soon will also be yours,” he said, watching her.
Chapter Five
Risa starred at The Dragon, now watching her. “My new home?” she asked and looked around; there, sitting on the floor, was a rock. She picked it up and threw it.
“Damn it,” Ice ducked and moved to the side. “HEY! No throwing stuff, that is mean,” he huffed and growled at her, before moving closer. “Yes, your new home. We have reason to believe the people who killed your parents are trying to kill you, so they can get into your house,” he said, talking fast, so Risa did not get the time to pick up another rock.
“No shit,” Risa huffed, looking at him. “People have been trying to break into my house for years, but the spells I have on it, stop them,” she said, looking at him, crossing her arms over her chest. Most people did not know her kind had magic; but, they did, after all, they could become anything the more powerful they got. Magic was a base and a starting point for most young changelings. She watched him. Wait, did his eyes just check out her breasts? It was too fast for her to know for sure. “You know?” Ice asked. “Wait! You have spells on your house?” he went on looking at her, shocked.
Risa laughed, “Of course I do. My third form is a panther; we have a very good sense of smell. I know when there are people around my house,” she snapped, growling at him lightly.
Ice watched the girl before him—the girl he had craved for so long that he did not know what to do about it. “Risa, it is not safe. You should have told me; I would have helped!” he said, watching her as she rolled her eyes.
“What? Asking for help from The Dragon, who was too busy to keep my family safe?” she snapped, hurting his heart as she sent him a look filled with hate. “Oh, please, I am fine. They want something in the house—I made sure they could never get it. Guess they worked out if I am dead, the spell would drop,” she said, walking away. Ice watched her go.
“You know, brother, maybe you should tell her who you really are,” Flame said, walking beside him. “Before it is too late, and she cannot forgive you for lying,” he said, looking to his brother now.
Ice looked back at him. “No, she will hate me anyway. I just need time for her to see I am not who she thinks, and I am a man worthy of her. Now, she is away from Ben and Apollo. I should be able to woo her,” Ice said, walking away.
With his back turned, he did not see his brother laughing. “Oh, brother dear, you do not know women at all,” Flame said as he walked away, humming. He was going to enjoy watching his brother make a fool out of himself.
Risa had left the dragons behind and walked down a tunnel, looking around. All too soon, she stopped dead. The tunnel opened up to a very big house in an open glade. Her mouth opened wide. She could not believe something so beautiful was hidden up on top of the mountains. She was so lost in the view around her; she did not hear footsteps approaching. “Told you I would be back soon, kitty. Why did you not wait for me?” Risa spun around and saw Apollo of all people standing behind her. “Apollo, what are you doing here?” she asked, watching him.
“Yes, Apollo, what are you doing here?” Isaac asked with a pout in his voice. Just then, another man stepped out from another cave.
“Now, now Isaac, you should not be so mean to the handsome man,” he said, making Isaac roll his eyes. “Damn it, Ash, stop checking out Apollo. You cannot have him,” Isaac snapped playfully. Apollo just walked over to Risa. “I am here for you, of course, baby girl,” he said as if the two men behind him were not there.
Risa watched them with no acknowledgment of him; she turned and walked away. “Oh, burn! Apollo,” the unknown male who must be ‘Ash’ said, laughing hard.
“Risa, wait, please,” Apollo called, but there was a slam. “Did she just slam my door in Apollo’s face?” asked Isaac, a grin fully spreading on his face.
Apollo growled. “Shut it, Isaac. This is your doing. You should have kept your nose out of this; I was keeping her safe,” Apollo growled.
“Shut up, Apollo, you were away again, and Ben is useless. I did what I had to,” Isaac snapped.
“Okay, boys, back it up. Let’s put those dicks away and work out if she locked the door; if she did, then we are sleeping outside,” Ash, said laughing. He laughed harder when both Apollo and Isaac started cursing and rushed for the door. The men did not know Risa was listening from behind the door; Risa made her way into the house. She had locked the door, but she did not understand who this other guy was. Clearly, he knew both Isaac and Apollo, and he also seemed like someone she should know.
She sat down and waited. Before long, the un
known man walked into the room. “Hello, I am Ash. Isaac’s more handsome twin brother,” he said, sitting down. “Apollo and Isaac are trying to get in; both forgot there is a back door.” Ash grinned at her playfully. Risa looked him over. Isaac’s twin looked nothing like his brother. He had bright orange hair, and flame red eyes but his body type matched Isaac, she thought as she looked him over. “Sorry, sexy, I bat for the other team, so I am not going to join the three horn dogs fighting for you,” he said, winking playfully just as there was a bang.
“Damn it, Apollo, why did you break the door?” Isaac’s voice could be heard. Risa covered her mouth, trying to hide the laugh which wanted to come out. The two men walked into the room, and both shot evil looks at Ash. “How did you get in?” Isaac growled.
“The back door,” was all Ash said, and Risa started laughing hard when both Apollo and Isaac blushed and face-palmed themselves.
“The back door, why did we not think of that?” Apollo whimpered. He walked over and dropped to his knees before Risa, placing his head into her lap. Risa ran her fingers into his hair, softly rubbing his wolf ears.
“Hey,” Isaac said softly but sat down watching the two.
Risa sighed. “Tell me what is going on, why am I here, why does this Ice want me to be safe,” she asked no one in particular but everyone replied simultaneously.
“He loves you,” that was from Ash.
“He wants to make up for his mistake,” that was Apollo.
“Because he cares and wants to make sure you are safe. You are important to him,” this one came from Isaac. Risa blinked, looking at all three of them.
“Okay, I cannot deal with this right now. I need to sleep; then, I need to go home tomorrow,” she said, getting up.
“No!” Both Isaac and Apollo yelled.
Risa spun and growled, so hard both men backed away across the room. “You do not tell me what to do. You do not have the right!” She pointed at Apollo. “You were never around. You came and went. You flirt, but you were never there when I needed you,” she snapped. Her eyes then flashed to Isaac, who backed away more. “And you, you have always been loyal to The Dragon, and that is al; so, do not start acting like you have a say in anything I do. I am going to bed. In the morning, I am going home; I have things to do. That is it,” she snapped and turned, heading to the stairs.
“Risa, he would not want you risking your life, just to try and break a curse, no one knows if it can be broken,” Apollo said softly. Risa froze and then turned slowly. The look on her face made Apollo go white.
“I don’t know what you are talking about. I am going home to see my mother and father’s grave and say my goodbyes. I am packing up and moving back to Dragon Valley—the only home I know where I was happy,” she said and stormed off. Her mind racing, yes, she wanted to go back, but she also had a deep-seated fear of what she would find, but it had to be better than being here.
“Dragon Valley, how does she know about it?” Ash asked, his voice taking on a hard edge.
Apollo looked at him. “She was raised there; her mother was a dragon rider and was paired with a black dragon when she fell in love with Risa’s father. As you know, dragon riders normally only mate with other riders; in doing so, their dragons also pair, but Asta Nightshade was not a dragon rider. He was a Level 5 changeling who had more power than most. He was on his way to Level 6 and for a seat on the paranormal council. Annabell left The Dragon riders, causing her dragon to partner to another rider, and she moved in with Asta. They then had—” Something hit Apollo hard on the head, sending him to the floor, groaning.
Risa stormed back down the stairs and stomped into the room. “Shut your mouth and keep it shut, Apollo! You have no right to tell them anything about my family,” she snapped and stormed out again.
Apollo got up. “A shoe? You hit me with a damn shoe, woman!” he snapped growling softly. He frowned, rubbing his head as he looked to the shoe he was now holding. He let it drop with a sigh.
Risa went into the upstairs bedroom, slamming the door. She went to the mirror and looked at herself. She did not know why she did it; it wasn't like her reflection would give her answers. Sighing, she turned away from the mirror and laid on the bed. As she lay there, tears fell from her eyes. She heard Apollo's unspoken words. Asta and Annabell had two children: Risa and her twin brother Zuko—a brother they had to leave behind to save Risa because someone was out to kill her. They had also tried to kill Zuko, but something had happened. No one was sure what went wrong or if Zuko did something, but he had ended up in a coma, one not even the paranormal council could break. They took him in to keep him safe, but before Annabell and Asta could get Risa to the council, the black dragon attacked.
At first, people thought it was her mum's partner, but Risa knew that was not true. Her mum’s dragon, Onyx, was a true, wild dragon, not like most of The Dragons who worked with riders who came from breeding stock. He had been born in the wild and bonded with her mum. However, once Annabell mated to Asta, Onyx had bonded with Zuko and Risa as Annabell gave up being a Dragon Rider to be with Asta. When the dark black dragon attacked her brother and hurt him badly, Onyx stayed with the council watching over him. Risa cried harder. She did not know why she was going back there, to the place where everything went wrong. However, she could not stay here but also didn’t want to see her twin in a coma. As a child, she fooled herself into thinking he was just asleep and would join them one day, but after her parents died, she had been too scared to go back, and feared that her brother could have died or been so deep in the coma he would never wake up, so she put it off. But right now, she just needed a safe place. She was scared and having three guys, who all never wanted her until now, put her on edge. She fell asleep, feeling all alone.
Downstairs, Apollo and Isaac sat down, looking at Ash. “She needs time; she is scared. She needs to trust Isaac—no more hiding,” Ash snapped softly.
“No, not yet. She is not ready. She needs to get to know me and Ice before she knows everything else. Please, Ash, give me time to woo her, to get her to fall in love with me, the real me,” he begged.
Apollo sighed. “Did you know Risa was raised in a place where a female would have more than one mate? Females were so rare in the valley that they got their pick,” he said, smirking at Isaac who pouted. “I get it. I will have to share her with you and Ben, but you two have to woo her on your own. I am not helping,” he said, crossing his arms pouting.
They spoke for another hour before they each took to their rooms. Apollo had a lot to say to Risa about what was going on, from what was happening in and around town, to what he had done to keep her safe and more what was happening back in the valley. But, he was scared; he did not want her to hate him. He wanted her love.
Chapter Six
Risa woke the next morning feeling more alone than she had felt in a long time. She just wanted her family back. She shook herself softly as she got out of the bed, only to scream and jump a mile when she stepped on something furry beside the bed. She looked down and sighed. “Damn it, Apollo, how did you get in here?” she snapped down to the wolf, looking up at her with the biggest puppy dog eyes. She waited and waited, but when he did not change, she growled. “Apollo,” she snapped, only to have the door thrown open, and a shirtless Apollo was standing there. She blinked at him, then looked down at the wolf who was now looking scared.
“Hey Risa, did you scream my name? Not doing anything kin…” was all he got out before he saw the wolf. He blinked and watched as the wolf backed away, all the way under Risa’s bed.
“Apollo, do you know why there is a wolf in my room?” Risa asked softly, trying not to move too much, seeing as there was an unknown wolf under her bed. Even if a part of her wanted to look under the bed—the wolf had been very cute and looked fluffy.
Just then, the wolf shot out and jumped on the bed. Apollo dived for it, but it reached Risa and nuzzled close, hiding behind her and whimpering softly as it rested its head on her shoulder. “Sky, wha
t do you think you are doing here?” Apollo growled. “And get your paws off my Risa,” he added as the wolf moved to rest her head on Risa’s chest. It shifted slowly at first, but then faster and in the place of the snow-white wolf, was a blond girl with cute wolf ears and a big bushy tail.
“Hello, big brother; I am just getting to know my new big sister," the girl said, grinning up at Risa. Her eyes were a clear, bright blue.
Risa blinked, looking from the girl to Apollo, really, she did not understand any of this and her head still hurt. She brushed Sky off and walked out of the room. She could not help smiling when she heard Sky and her brother start fighting. She shook her head so lost in thought she walked right into someone. “Oh, sorry,” she said, raising her eyes to see who she had hit and then groaned. “Oh, God, not you too. I cannot deal with this,” she said, storming off, leaving a very confused Ben behind.
“But, I didn't even say anything,” Ben said, really not understanding. He turned to Ash, who was bent over laughing.
“Oh my God, that was amazing,” he said, then yelped when Ben hit him on the head.
Risa kept walking until she found a cave with a huge pool; it was wide and long and seemed very deep with clear water. Her eyes went wide as she walked closer. She then screamed as something emerged from the water; she grabbed her chest when she saw it was just Ice. “What is it with everyone wanting to scare me today. I cannot wait to go home and get away from the lot of you,” she snapped.
“Sorry, but you walked into my pool room, you know,” Ice said, smirking at her.
Damn that dragon, she thought, but sighing, she went and sat by the side of the pool, dipping her legs in. She looked up at Ice, who was lying with his head on the side of the pool. “How am I going to get to my house? I need to go down today,” she said, looking away, her mind on her family, and what her plans were going to be. Did she really want to go back to Dragon Valley? Well, yes, she did, but at the same time, she was scared. What if the people after her family were still around? She would just be making more troubles for the valley.
Risa's Destiny Page 3